The Correctional Investigator
Canada
2008-2009
Departmental Performance Report
The Honourable Peter Van Loan, P.C., M.P
Minister of Public Safety
Table of Contents
SECTION I: OVERVIEW ................................................................................................ 3
Correctional Investigator's Message
Raison d’être
Responsibilities
Strategic Outcome(s) and Program Activity Architecture (PAA)
Summary of Performance
Contribution of Priorities to Strategic Outcome
Risk Analysis
Expenditure Profile
Voted and Statutory Items
3
5
5
5
6
9
11
11
12
SECTION II: ANALYSIS OF PROGRAM ACTIVITIES BY STRATEGIC OUTCOME.. 13
Strategic Outcome
Program Activity by Strategic Outcome
Benefits for Canadians
Performance Analysis
Lessons Learned
13
13
14
14
14
SECTION III: SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION...................................................... 14
Financial Statements
14
Other Items of Interest
14
2
SECTION I: OVERVIEW
Correctional Investigator’s Message
As Canada’s federal prison Ombudsman offering independent oversight of federal
Corrections, the Office of the Correctional Investigator (OCI) contributes to public safety
nationally and the promotion of human rights by providing independent and timely review of
offender complaints. The Office makes recommendations that assist in the development and
maintenance of a federal correctional system that is fair, humane, effective and accountable.
In order to achieve this result for Canadians, the Office monitors and investigates the acts,
omissions, decisions and recommendations of the Correctional Service of Canada to help
ensure that it carries out its statutory mandate in compliance not only with its own policies
and procedures, but also with its domestic and international legal and human rights
obligations.
Last year marked the 35th anniversary of the Office of the Correctional Investigator – a
milestone that garners pride in all of us working here. Our pride is founded on the
commitment to human rights of prisoners and the fundamental societal principle that all
offenders – regardless of their circumstances, race, social status, gender, health or religion –
are entitled to be treated lawfully, with respect and dignity while in the custody of the
Correctional Service of Canada. Over the last 35 years, my Office has promoted
accountability through its review of more than 145,000 offender inquiries and
complaints. This work has contributed to improvements in the system, but there is still a
great deal for us to achieve.
For the second consecutive fiscal year, there has been a decline in the number of offender
complaints received by the Office. The number and frequency of staff visits to federal
institutions across the country is also down. This reduction is the result of a greater demand
being placed upon too few people in the Office being called upon to juggle multiple
competing priorities compounded by high turnover during the reporting period. The numbers
reported this year are a sign of an organization under duress and in transition, not decline.
The Office conducted two very resource-intensive investigations in this past year. The
Office publicly released its findings and recommendations in these disturbing cases A
Failure to Respond in May 2008 and A Preventable Death in March 2009. The conduct of
these investigations and follow-up work required a redistribution of workload and a
reorganization of priorities within the Office.
Not without significant reservation, a management decision to decrease the number of
investigative visits to institutions was made so that the OCI could adequately carry out these
priority investigations. As a result, the organization was left challenged in its ability to get
out and meet with offenders and offender groups in institutions and seek timely resolution to
their issues. This was not an easy decision however; this short term disruption in regular
operations will pay off in long term resolution of systemic concerns.
3
Finally, it is worth noting that my Office developed a program integrity business case for
incremental permanent funding to address increasing workload pressures primarily related to
volume of complaints, complexity of cases and special reviews which are directly associated
with several emerging trends in the correctional environment. The organization will be
working with the Central Agencies to secure permanent incremental funding for April 2010.
On a personal note, I was extremely pleased to have received the confimation of my
reappointment, effective April 1, 2009, to a three-year term as Correctional Investigator. It is
therefore with renewed conviction, energy and optimism that I present the 2008-2009
Departmental Performance Report.
Howard Sapers
Correctional Investigator
4
Raison d’être
The Office of the Correctional Investigator provides Canadians with timely, independent,
thorough and objective monitoring of their federal correctional system to ensure that it
remains safe, secure, fair, equitable, humane, reasonable and effective. Essentially, its
oversight role is to ensure that the Correctional Service of Canada carries out its statutory
mandate in compliance with its domestic and international legal and human rights
obligations.
Responsibilities
The Correctional Investigator is mandated by Part III of the Corrections and Conditional
Release Act as an Ombudsman for federal offenders by providing independent and timely
review of offender complaints. The primary function of the Office is to investigate and bring
resolution to individual offender complaints. From time to time, the OCI identifies
specialized areas of focus. In the reporting period, Aboriginal offenders, women offenders,
offenders with mental health issues, institutional violence, use of force and deaths in custody
investigations have been so identified.
The Office, as well, has a responsibility to review and make recommendations on the
Correctional Service of Canada’s policies and procedures associated with the areas of
individual complaints to ensure that the systemic areas of concern are identified and
appropriately addressed.
Strategic Outcome and Program Activity Architecture (PAA)
The Office of the Correctional Investigator’s only strategic outcome is: “The problems of
offenders in the federal correctional system are identified and resolved in a timely fashion”.
Its main program activity is the “Oversight of Correctional Operations”, which regroups the
four operational priorities identified in the Summary Performance section of this Report. The
other program activity, Internal Services, supports the delivery of the Office’s Ombudsman
role to federal offenders as well as its corporate obligations to the Central Agencies.
The problems of offenders in the federal
correctional system are identified and
resolved in a timely fashion
Ombudsman to
federal
offenders
Internal
Services
5
STRATEGIC
OUTCOME
PROGRAM
ACTIVITY
Summary of Performance
2008–09 Financial Resources (thousands)
Planned Spending
Total Authorities
Actual Spending
$3,793
$4,229
$3,532
Planned
Actual
Difference
30
24
6*
2008–09 Human Resources (FTEs)
* The OCI received temporary funding (for 2008-09) from the Management Reserve but was unable to attract and hire
additional employees so opted to retain consultants to assist in the delivery of its mandate.
Performance Summary
Strategic Outcome 1: The problems of offenders in the federal correctional system are identified and
resolved in a timely fashion.
Performance Indicators
Targets
2008–09 Performance
Because of the realignment of investigative staff to focus
on two special reviews coupled with important turnover
(see Priorities below), the organization’s overall
performance in attaining these targets fell short of
expectations. Specifically, the number of institutional
visits declined, as did the number of interviews and the
number of days spent at the institutions all of which
affected the organization’s ability to reach its preestablished targets.
1.
Level of Service:
Percentage of OCI
responses to offender
complaints
1. 95%
2.
Accessibility: Number
of contacts, institutional
visits and interviews (s.
169, CCRA)
2. 95%
quarterly visits
to maximum
and medium
security
institutions and
95% semiannual visits to
minimum
security
institutions
3.
Timeliness: OCI
response time to
offender complaints
and referrals
3. OCI
timeliness
standards:
internal
response =
90% within 5
days; inquiry =
85% within 15
days;
investigations =
80% within 45
days
A management decision, although difficult, to decrease
the number of investigative visits to institutions was made
so that the OCI could adequately carry out these priority
investigations. As a result, the organization was unable
to get out and meet with offenders and offender groups in
institutions and seek timely resolution to their issues to the
degree it expected. This short term disruption in regular
operations will pay off in long term resolution of systemic
concerns.
With regards to the timeliness of responses, the OCI did
not meet its targets:
- Internal responses: 49% within 5 days;
- Inquiry: 58% within 15 days; and
- Investigations: 61% within 45 days.
6
Program
Activity
2007–08
Actual
Spending
2008–09
Main
Estimates
2008–09
Planned
Spending
2008–09
Total
Authorities
(1)
2008–09
Actual
Spending
Alignment to
Government of
Canada
Outcomes1
$3,793
$3,793
$4,229
$3,532
Safe and Secure
Canada
($ 000
thousands)
Ombudsman
to federal
offenders
$3,122
By providing
independent
oversight of
federal
Corrections, the
Office
contributes to
public safety by
providing
independent and
timely review of
offender
complaints.
Total
$3,122
$3,793
$3,793
$4,229
$3,532
(1) The Total Authorities amount includes $194,529 received from Treasury Board for
severance entitlements. In addition, the Office of the Correctional Investigator experienced
seven departures or 30% of its complement in the reporting period. Delays in replacing these
incumbents contributed to the authorities not being used. Two vacancies, including an
executive position, were not staffed by the end of the reporting period.
1
Information on how to present departmental alignment to Government of Canada outcomes in the DPR is
available on the Secretariat’s website at http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/pubs_pol/dcgpubs/mrrsp-psgrr/wgfcp_e.asp.
7
Contribution of Priorities to Strategic Outcome
Operational Priorities
Type2
Status
Linkages to Strategic
Outcome(s)
1. Investigate and resolve individual
offender issues
Ongoing
Not met
2. Investigate, resolve and follow-up on
systemic offender issues
Ongoing
Successfully
met
3. Monitor, evaluate, and provide
representations on CSC’s
management of mandated issues
(s.19 investigations and use of
force incidents)
Ongoing
Successfully
met
4. Investigate, resolve and provide
leadership on specifically identified
issues (Women and Aboriginal
Offenders, and Mental Health)
Ongoing
Successfully
met
These four priorities stem
from the Office of the
Correctional Investigator’s
mandate. As such, all are
clearly linked to the
organization’s only strategic
outcome: “The problems of
offenders in the federal
correctional system are
identified and resolved in a
timely fashion”.
Priority 1:
The OCI received 6,059 complaints in fiscal year 2008-2009. OCI investigative staff
conducted 1,252 offender interviews and spent 205.5 days within federal correctional
institutions. Although the number of complaints is relatively the same as in the previous
fiscal year (6,289), there has been a decrease in the number of interviews (2,039) and a
decrease in the number of days spent in institutions (297). These variances were largely
attributed to turnover amongst investigative staff which reached a peak of 40 % of the
investigative workforce during the summer of 2008 and the realignment of staff to conduct
special investigations into deaths in custody. It is important to note, that the demands of
investigative work, including extensive travel, stressful environment, never ending
complaints coupled with demanding clients translates in higher than normal turnover in
comparison to other business lines. This is an operational reality for the organization which is
clearly linked to the ability to access offenders in the institutions.
During this period, the OCI did not visit institutions and only responded to complaints of an
urgent nature. Several selection processes were initiated to staff positions within the
investigative stream to address the gap. A two-week training program was developed and
delivered to new staff in September 2008 and a shorter training program was provided to
additional investigative staff in May 2009. The OCI has since resumed regular visits to
federal correctional institutions.
2
Type is defined as follows: previously committed to—committed to in the first or second fiscal year prior
to the subject year of the report; ongoing—committed to at least three fiscal years prior to the subject year
of the report; and new—newly committed to in the reporting year of the RPP or DPR.
8
Priority 2:
During each institutional visit, OCI investigative staff reviewed the institution’s performance
on OCI Areas of Focus based on reports from the Service’s own database. Concerns and/or
best practices were reviewed with the respective Warden and reiterated in debriefing letters
forwarded to the Warden following each visit. Visiting requirements were subsequently
reduced pending the arrival and training of new staff. These operational adjustments did not
allow for ongoing monitoring and reporting on the various institutions’ performance on
Areas of Focus as well as systemic issues identified by offender groups.
Priority 3:
In the reporting period, the OCI received documentation that relates to 1204 use of force
incidents that occurred in federal correctional institutions. Despite limited resources available
to the use of force portfolio, the organization managed to review and complete a report for
712 incidents involving use of force. This completion rate is deemed satisfactory given the
resource issue and the complexity of the cases.
Correctional Service Canada is required as per Section 19 of the Corrections and Conditional
Release Act to conduct an investigation into incidents that involve a serious bodily injury or a
death within their institutions and in the community. The OCI is mandated to review each
investigative report completed by Correctional Service that relate to incidents of serious
bodily injuries and deaths. This task was directed to the Manager of Investigations - Section
19 investigation/use of force who left in May 2008. Although the organization assigned one
individual on an acting basis for several months while a selection process was launched,
competing priorities did not allow the OCI to address the backlog of Section 19 reviews. In
March and June 2009, the OCI hired two consultants, who are both knowledgeable and have
extensive experience in corrections with a view to addressing the backlog of Section 19
reviews.
In this fiscal year, the OCI has received 90 investigations convened as per Section 19 of the
CCRA. Sixty-four investigations have been reviewed and 36 are awaiting a review. We have
also received 90 convening orders and we are awaiting receipt of these investigative reports
from Correctional Service.
In the last quarter, the OCI launched a review of its investigative process and finalized a
number of selection processes to staff key positions within the investigative stream. As part
of a realignment of its resources, the OCI has also reduced the number of institutions
assigned to investigative staff, but added to their responsibilities, the review and follow up of
Section 19 investigations that involve incidents of serious bodily injuries and deaths at their
institutions. This information is fundamental to their knowledge of their assigned institutions
and to the investigation of offender complaints.
Priority 4:
During the reporting period, the OCI relied on a Manager of Investigations responsible for
the Women’s Issues portfolio including the liaison with authorities on women’s issues at
9
National Headquarters of CSC. As part of strategic planning and in an effort to disseminate
the knowledge and expertise that relate to women’s issues, the OCI distributed women’s
institutions amongst women investigative staff in the latter half of the fiscal year. A training
module was developed and offered to all OCI investigative staff on issues related to federally
sentenced women.
Statistically, there were 518 complaints received from women offenders. Investigative staff
conducted 121 interviews with women offenders and spent 22 days in the facilities
designated for federally sentenced women.
The OCI received 580 complaints from Aboriginal offenders. The complaints focused on the
same issues as those submitted by non-Aboriginal offenders and included concerns with
health care, transfers and issues with staff performance.
Given the OCI’s ongoing challenges in staffing the position of a Manager of Investigations Aboriginal Issues and the importance of this portfolio, the OCI opted to hire an expert
consultant to conduct a review and provide a status report on the progress made by the
Correctional Service in implementing its Aboriginal correctional strategy. The report is
expected in the fall of 2009.
The OCI continues to be concerned with the prevalence of offenders who suffer from mental
health issues as well as the assessment and quality of mental health services available to
federal offenders. The OCI hired a new Manager of Investigations dedicated to the Mental
Health Portfolio in 2008. This individual was assigned one of the five treatment centres and
an institution where 80% of the offender population suffer from mental health issues. In
addition, a mental health training module was developed and offered to all OCI investigative
staff.
The 2008-2009 Report on Plans and Priorities did not identify any management priorities;
however, in the last quarter of the fiscal year, preliminary work was started on the
development of an Information Management implementation plan that will see the
organization develop a new file structure that will house both paper and electronic records in a
more structured manner which will facilitate the search and retrieval of operational
information.
10
Management
Priorities
Type2
Status
Linkages to Strategic
Outcome(s)
Information
Management
ƒ Although this
initiative was not
identified as a
Management
priority in the 20082009 RPP, certain
activities were
undertaken in the
last quarter of the
reporting period in
this regard.
The preliminary
project management
work completed. This
output successfully
met the expectations
of the organization
and is viewed as a
positive step in the
upgrading of the
organization’s IM
capacity.
This initiatve is clearly linked
to the organization’s strategic
outcome: “The problems of
offenders in the federal
correctional system are
identified and resolved in a
timely fashion”.
The work accomplished in the
last quarter in restructuring
the organization’s
classification nomenclature
will facilitate the retention,
search and retrieval of
offender information
maintained by the OCI.
Risk Analysis
The operational environment in which the Office of the Correctional Investigator functions is
complex. As in years past, it is with the resolution of the individual offender issues at the
institutional level where the OCI has achieved its best performance in terms of achieving
expected results and its strategic outcome.
The operational challenges for the organization are rooted in the maintaining of an
independent and objective review process within the correctional environment where the
organization has virtually no control over either the number of complaints or the extent of the
required investigative response.
In addition, the OCI has seen the complexity of complaints increase over the last few years.
Systemic issues including deaths in custody, correctional practices for the mentally ill, use of
force and Aboriginal corrections, demand more investigative attention and the realignment of
resources from daily operations to special reviews also impact on the organization to meet its
mandate.
Expenditure Profile
For a five-year period, from 2004-2005 to 2008-2009, the Office of the Correctional
Investigator’s base budget remained stable averaging 3 million dollars annually (See
Spending Trends table below). The organization was successful in the last two fiscal years in
securing temporary funding from the Treasury Board’s Management Reserve to address
workload pressures resulting in a noticeable increase to its budget authorities especially in
2008-2009. The organization’s inability to staff vacancies in a timely manner and attract
candidates to a term assignment coupled with the redeployment of investigative staff to
special investigations in the last two years affected the attainment of performance objectives
as demonstrated in the Performance Summary table.
11
Spending Trends
Fiscal Year
2008-2009
2007-2008
Actual Expenditures
2006-2007
Planned Spending
Total Authorities
2005-2006
2004-2005
0
1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000
Thousands
This financial information is relevant as it underscores the organization’s status as a micro
agency. The average annual budgetary lapse over this period was 8.0%.The budgetary
variance in 2008-2009 was 16% as a result of the temporary budgetary increase from the
Management Reserve to address workload increases, staff turnover and the organization’s
inability to replace these vacancies effectively.
Voted and Statutory Items
(Thousands)
Vote #
or
Statutory
Item (S)
45
(S)
Truncated Vote
or
Statutory
Wording
Operating
expenditures
Contributions
to employee
benefit plans
2006–07
Actual
Spending
2007–08
Actual
Spending
2008–09
Main
Estimate3
2008–09
Actual
Spending
2,831
2,754
3,341
3,058
325
368
452
474
3,122
3,793
3,532
TOTAL 3,156
The difference between fiscal years 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 relate to temporary funding
received from Treasury Board’s Management Reserve to address workload issues. In year
one of this funding, the Office received 287,000 and 711,000 in the reporting period.
3
The vote numbers and wording must be identical to the department’s vote numbers and wording as identified
in the department summary of the Main Estimates.
12
SECTION II: ANALYSIS OF PROGRAM ACTIVITIES BY
STRATEGIC OUTCOME
Strategic Outcome: The problems of offenders in the federal correctional system are
identified and resolved in a timely fashion
The OCI’s strategic outcome is consistent with the organization’s legislative mandate as
defined in section 167 of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act. It states that its
“function is to conduct investigations into the problems of offenders related to decisions,
recommendations, acts or omissions of the Commissioner or any person under the control
and management of, or performing services for or on behalf of, the Commissioner that affect
offenders either individually or as a group.” Ombudsman offices have been established
throughout Canada and the world because of an increasing understanding of the need to
protect individual rights and enhance the accountability of public institutions. In this regard,
Ombudsman organizations have come to be viewed as useful and effective instruments to
help citizens secure fair treatment from their governments. In addressing offender complaints
and assessing systemic issues, the OCI makes recommendations that assist in the
development and maintenance of an answerable federal correctional system that is fair,
humane and effective. This is the benefit for Canadians.
In the reporting period, OCI did not completely meet pre-established performance targets. As
stated throughout this report, several factors that were significantly outside the control of the
organization contributed to this situation. In addition, the OCI was faced with achieving a
balance between addressing individual complaints and dealing with systemic issues –
specifically, deaths in custody and mental health. See Performance Summary Table for
details.
Program Activity by Strategic Outcome
Program Activity 1:
Ombudsman for federal offenders
2008–09 Financial Resources ($ thousands)
2008–09 Human Resources (FTEs)
Planned
Spending
Total
Authorities
Actual Spending
Planned
Actual
Difference
3,793
4,229
3,532
30
24
6
This activity’s success was impeded by human resources issues identified previously. Certain
requirements of the organization’s mandate were not met successfully or to the degree
expected to a large extent as a result of the realignment of resources to conduct special
reviews but also the turnover rate specifically in the summer of 2008.
13
Benefits for Canadians
All activities performed by the organization’s investigative staff, including, institutional
visits, responding to offender concerns, follow-up and analysis of systemic issues, Section 19
and use of force analysis and investigations as well as specialized investigations for Women
and Aboriginal issues form the only program activity linked to the strategic outcome –
Ombudsman or federal offenders. The achievement of this mandate benefits Canadians in
contributing towards public safety and the promotion of human rights by providing
independent and timely review of offender complaints.
Performance Analysis
The OCI’s primary activity, Ombudsman for federal offenders, was conducted appropriately.
Investigative staff carried out professional, timely (when possible) and responsive analysis of
offender complaints and investigations throughout the reporting period. However, the
number and frequency of institutional visits across the country was down in comparison to
the previous year. As a result of a decreased presence within the institutions, OCI services
were used less often than in previous years.
Lessons Learned
Access, timeliness and quality of investigations are core elements of the Ombudsman
function. To ensure these elements were completely adhered to, the OCI embarked in a
strategic planning exercise which will culminate with the update of its Investigative Policies
and Procedures Manual. From this review, a more streamlined organizational structure that
will allow a better allocation of resources to address priority areas and systemic concern will
be developed. In addition, the OCI will continue discussions with the Central Agencies with
a view to securing permanent incremental funding for 2010.
SECTION III: SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
Financial Statements
The Office of the Correctional Investigator’s 2008-2009 Financial Statements (unaudited)
can be found at: www.oci-bec.gc.ca
Other Items of Interest
A preventable death: Report into the Death of Ashley Smith
Report on the circumstances surrounding the Death of a Federal Inmate – A failure to
Respond
Speaking Notes for Mr. Howard Sapers and Dr. Ivan Zinger of their Appearance before the
Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security – June 2, 2009
14
Speaking Notes for Mr. Howard Sapers of his Appearance before the Standing Committee on
Justice and Human Rights – May 25, 2009
Can be found at:
www.oci-bec.gc.ca
Complaints by Category
CATEGORY
Administrative Segregation
Case Preparation
Cell Effects
Cell Placement
Claims Against the Crown
Community
Programs/Supervision
Conditions of Confinement
Correspondence
Death or Serious Injury
Decisions (General) Implementation
Diet
Discipline
Discrimination
Employment
File Information
Financial Matters
Food Services
Grievance Procedure
Harassment
Health and Safety - Worksite
Ion Scan/Drug Dog
Health Care
Mental Health
Methadone
Official Languages
Operation/Decisions of the
OCI
Programs
Urinalysis
Use of Force
Visits
Outside Terms of Reference
Parole Process/Decisions
Other Issues
Grand Total
INTERNAL
RESPONSE
99
129
185
1
26
INVESTIGATION
324
128
231
42
39
TOTAL
423
257
416
43
65
10
151
51
6
8
222
54
11
18
373
105
17
58
14
22
8
41
135
65
24
67
28
4
4
235
15
11
6
55
27
22
4
60
118
75
39
142
25
5
1
616
47
25
7
113
41
44
12
101
253
140
63
209
53
9
5
851
62
36
13
17
147
8
11
108
8
300
6
40
203
25
447
14
51
311
81
34
80
21
161
55
2334
3725
6059
15
Glossary
Complaint: may be made by an offender or a third party on behalf of an offender by
telephone, facsimile, letter or during interviews held by the OCI’s investigative staff at
federal correctional facilities. The legislation also allows the OCI to commence an
investigation at the request of the Minister or on the OCI’s own initiative.
Internal Response: a response provided to a complainant that does not require consultation
with any sources of information outside the OCI.
Investigation: a complaint where an inquiry is made with the Correctional Service and/or
documentation is reviewed/analyzed by the OCI’s investigative staff before the information
or assistance sought by the offender is provided. Investigations vary considerably in terms of
their scope, complexity, duration and resources required. While some issues may be
addressed relatively quickly, others require a comprehensive review of documentation,
numerous interviews and extensive correspondence with the various levels of management at
the Correctional Service of Canada prior to being finalized.
16